Dead water, p.31
Dead Water, page 31
“Do you need assistance to get to Porthoustock harbour? Over.”
“Negative, Falmouth. Eta eight minutes. Over.”
“Lowenna this is Falmouth Coastguard. Understood. An ambulance is on way to the harbour. The lifeboat will be sent to shadow you. Over.”
“Understood, Falmouth. Over and out.”
Tamsyn gripped the wheel and pushed the throttle forwards, increasing the speed as much as she dared in the choppy waters.
The little boat bounced and skittered across the waves, slamming down into the trough then lurching up into the next set. She couldn’t risk looking over shoulder to see how Adam was doing.
Wind whipped her wet hair across her face and she shivered uncontrollably. Eight minutes seemed to take a lifetime.
As she neared the shingle beach, two elderly fishermen waved to her from the stone silo on the wharf, ready to grab the lines as soon as she could throw them ashore. She guessed that they’d heard her emergency call and had rushed to help.
There was no sign of the ambulance.
She was coming in fast and knew she should slow the engines, but a quick glance told her that Adam was unconscious.
The little boat roared into the harbour, breaking the five knots speed limit, then she slammed the throttle into reverse, and tossed a rope to the waiting men. They caught it skilfully, quickly securing Lowenna against the harbour buoys and boarding the boat.
“Poldhu? You Ozzie’s granddaughter?” one of them asked as he squatted down next to Adam.
“Yes, that’s right. I’m Tamsyn Poldhu,” she said, her voice tight with strain.
"Thought so," the other one nodded. "I'm Jack and that there is Clemo."
“’E’s awright, maid. The boy just fainted. Nasty bite though, bleeding like buggery – ‘e might lose that finger.”
The man sounded philosophical: life at sea was a dangerous business. Tamsyn could hear her grandfather’s voice in her head: the ocean gives and the ocean takes away.
She crouched down next to Adam, taking his uninjured hand in hers, feeling its icy coldness.
His eyelids fluttered as the men undid his harness, removing the rest of his scuba equipment, and the faintest colour returned to his cheeks.
“Sorry,” he whispered, giving Tamsyn a wry smile. “More exciting than I’d planned.”
Tamsyn leaned closer, so the two men couldn’t hear her.
“Did you see the body?”
His forehead wrinkled.
“What?”
“Another diver. He was dead.”
“What?”
“You didn’t see him?”
“No, nothing.” Adam gave her a faint smile. “I said it was haunted.”
Tamsyn didn’t reply and was relieved when she finally heard the wail of sirens.
“The ambulance is here, Adam.”
“Come with me?” he asked weakly.
“I’ll take Lowenna back to Falmouth and pick up your car. I’ll only be an hour behind you.”
“But…”
“I’ll be fine,” she said, deliberately misunderstanding him. “I’ve been around boats my whole life. I’ll be okay. And I’ll get our stuff so you’ve got some dry clothes when I pick you up at the hospital.”
She suspected that his hand would need surgery, but she didn’t tell him that.
The paramedics took over then, climbing onto the boat and lifting Adam ashore by stretcher.
“I’ll see you later,” Tamsyn called reassuringly, but Adam didn’t reply.
She waited until the ambulance had left the harbour, then turned to the two old fishermen.
“I really appreciate your help.”
“Don’t you fret, maid. Regards to your grandfather.”
They waved away her thanks and helped her cast off.
It was 40 minutes to Falmouth.
She tried to phone her boss but got his answering service.
“This is DI Rego. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you.”
“Sir, it’s Tamsyn Poldhu. I’ve found a body.”
Available to read now!
FORENSIC FILE
In each edition of my monthly newsletter, I’ll cover a topic of interest from the forensic files.
Topics covered so far:
Fingerprints
More correctly called ‘finger ridges’, these are formed on a foetus by six months, due to the movement of amniotic fluid, and even the fingerprints of twins aren’t identical.
Digi dogs
Search dogs have been trained to locate drugs or explosives, but they can also be trained specifically to sniff out technology such as laptops, mobile phones, USB sticks and even SIM cards. First trialled in the UK by Devon & Cornwall Police, with assistance from the FBI.
Learn more on my website and sign up for the monthly newsletter www.berrickford.com
Berrick Ford, Dead Water
